WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B.
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 140
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After heading down to the underground workshop, I immediately got to work on alchemy.
Bubble, bubble.
The mysterious liquid boiling in the pot was tap water.
It was Arisu, the pure, clean water of Seoul, King Korea.
I laid out all kinds of ingredients and asked Daesik.
“Daesik. What do I do now? The water’s boiling.”
-Add the carefully prepared ingredients one by one. Start with Troll blood.
“It turned black when I added this. Is that right? I’m not going to die if I drink it, am I?”
-That is why purification is necessary. You must put your heart into it. First, remove the impurities floating on the surface.
“So I just skim off the black foam on top? It’s like skimming foam off soup.”
I followed Daesik’s instructions.
The monster byproducts I had gathered, along with various reagents and catalysts piled up in storage, went into the pot one after another.
By the way, Ms. Hyeji had gone home with Iing Iing.
Choi Yejin was in the living room drawing a map.
The workshop held only me and the jar.
A solemn silence had settled over the underground workshop.
It made it easy to focus.
“So, what do I do next?”
-Infuse it with mana. The ingredients must react evenly. However, if you force too much mana into it, the balance between the ingredients will collapse, so be careful...
“Like this?”
Hummmmm.
Blue Motes flowed from the tip of my staff.
I sent them into the liquid, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
I stabilized the flow.
I untangled the clumped mana and reinforced the weak currents.
Then...
Bubble, bubble, bubble.
The liquid, which had been surging violently, gradually calmed down.
Its surface color also became even.
The jar spoke in a bewildered voice.
-...Already?
“What?”
-Matching the speed of mana infusion with the reaction is not an easy process. It takes at least several hours, perhaps even days of careful effort. Yet how did you do it all at once...?
“It’s me.”
I had thought a heaven-defying elixir would be incredibly difficult.
But once I started, it was not all that different from the potions I usually made.
The ingredients and order were a little more complicated.
Still, the process was only a little longer. I just had to add ingredients and mix the mana around as usual!
-This is only the beginning. Do not become arrogant over something so trivial!
“Oh, does something harder come next?”
-Yes. This time, you must make three prepared extracts react simultaneously. They react at different speeds. You must adjust each one, then combine them. If you focus on only one, the others will go wrong...
“You want me to control all three at once?”
-Yes. So do not rush. First, get a feel for each one separately, then...
“Like this? Like this? Like this?”
Hummmmmm.
I divided the mana flowing from my staff into three streams.
The Blue Motes moved at different speeds within each extract.
I slowed down the fast ones, telling them to wait.
I hurried the slow ones along, telling them to move faster.
Once I made their flows even, I brought them together.
The streams of mana that had been repelling each other mixed evenly.
The three liquids merged into one and gave off a faint light.
How fascinating!
“Done, right?”
-...
“Daesik? Why are you spacing out? Focus! You’re not distracted because Iing Iing went home, are you? You’re scared of Iing Iing but not scared of me?!”
-...How are you controlling them so precisely? Not one ingredient, but three. You have tuned them together perfectly.
“? There are only three.”
I was someone who could float thousands of Fireballs at once.
I could even set each of their trajectories and fire them off.
In other words, I was a master multitasker!
So how could handling just three liquids in front of me at once be difficult?
“Games are way harder than this. You have to manage multiple expansions while fighting battles, managing resources, and chat-rushing. Ah, speaking of games, I remember getting crushed yesterday. If it weren’t for that damn Manner Pylon...!”
-...I do not know what you are talking about, but continue. Slowly rotate the mana to separate the sediment. Do not make it too fast...
“Like this? Like this?”
-...
“What? Did I get it right again?”
-You did.
“Ha!”
As expected of this great Extreme Lunatic Hell Alchemist and Heaven-Defying Alchemist!
The supposedly difficult processes were finishing one after another.
I could not help getting excited.
“Like this? Like this? See? Elixirs are a joke, right? As expected of me! But shouldn’t something like a heavenly tribulation come down? In cultivation stories, when someone makes a heaven-defying pill like this, lightning from heaven usually strikes them.”
-...
“Daesik. What do I do next?”
-Next is...
At first, Daesik had added warnings to every instruction.
Now, Daesik just briefly told me what to do next.
It was nice that the useless explanations had stopped!
As I continued mixing ingredients, Daesik quietly asked me.
-What... are you?
“It’s me.”
-I told you to answer seriously!
Jeez, that startled me.
Why was Daesik suddenly getting angry?
-Your eyes that see mana. Your unbelievable spiritual senses... What training did you undergo to gain them?
“Training...? Not really? I’ve been able to see them since I was little.”
-Since you were little...?
“Yeah. I tried everything to touch the Blue Motes, but nothing worked. Then I picked up a staff, and suddenly I could use magic.”
-...
I suddenly thought back on how far I had come.
The days when I was treated like a strange child.
My worried parents, the other kids looking down on me.
In the end, I had spent twenty-seven years hiding the fact that I could see Blue Motes.
Then, one day, I was dragged into the Tower’s Tutorial.
There, I met Goblin Teacher, and on Floor 10, I encountered several senior martial uncles and teachers. I faced powerful enemies like the Orc sect leader, a Shaman, on the Middle Floors, and the Blood Cultist, a Black Mage, on the High Floors.
After gaining all kinds of experience and growing stronger...
I had finally reached where I was now!
I ran a finger beneath my nose.
“It was an epic tale that lasted a whole month and two weeks... Thinking about it, I went through so many trials and hardships. Phew. I miss Teacher today... I wonder if Teacher in heaven is doing well...”
-...One month? You said one month?
Daesik’s drained voice reached my ears as I grew sentimental.
Daesik began muttering.
-I... devoted a hundred years to it. I researched while considering even the time spent eating and sleeping a waste. I would have done anything to reach a higher realm, even one step higher. I offered up a continent, abandoned my body, and even accepted becoming nothing but a soul...!
“So that’s how you became Sans. And now you’re a jar.”
-And one month? One month?! Then what was my entire life...?!
“Why are you so fucking angry, Daesik-Daesik?”
This guy really got angry a lot.
Daesik’s voice became low.
-I... could not reach it. The realm you see and control as though it were natural! I gave everything I had, even consumed a continent, yet I could not reach it!
“...”
-Yet you...! You possess that level of talent, so why do you not devote everything to magic?!
Daesik rattled off words in an agitated tone.
I could not understand Daesik.
Why had Daesik sacrificed so much for magic?
-Why do you spend your time on trivial amusements? With your eyes and soul, you could reach the end of magic. Why are you wasting such precious time?
“Why? Because... it’s fun.”
-...Fun?
“I mean, magic is fun, but there are lots of other fun things too. Games are fun, hanging out on Hunter Gallery is fun. There are lots of fun things, so why would I go all-in on magic?”
-Are such trivial things more important than truth?!
“Hmm...”
I rubbed my chin and looked at the jar.
Why was this guy such a magic-is-the-best villain?
Magic was fun, but it was not something worth giving up everything for.
I thought for a moment.
Then, a possibility came to mind.
I quietly asked Daesik.
“Sans-Daesik. Your world didn’t have the internet, did it?”
-...Internet?
“No games, no Shorts, no Hunter Gallery. You obviously didn’t have movies, dramas, or anime either. The only things you could enjoy were boring plays and classic literature.”
-Speak in words I can understand.
“Ahhh. I get it.”
I looked at Daesik with pity in my eyes.
Tsk, tsk.
My tongue clicked on its own.
“You poor bastard.”
-...?
“You think that way because you lived in a primitive medieval magic-punk world where magic was the only thing you could enjoy.”
-What kind of nonsense is that...
Daesik’s world was a fucking primitive medieval magic-punk society.
A world where magic was the only entertainment.
It was a terrible dopamine apocalypse!
That was why Daesik had spent a hundred years locked in a room and gone mad over magic!!!
It was all because there were no other fun things to do.
How horrifying...!
“Without the benefits of civilization, people go completely crazy like that. This is why people need to live in modern society, full of dopamine! If you had other things to enjoy, you probably would not have had such extreme thoughts about eating a continent.”
-Do not belittle what I spent my entire life pursuing like that...!
“Modern civilization is amaaaazing!!! Games are the best! Shorts are the best! Hunter Gallery is the best! Dopamine is the best! My brain is melting, ttutya-ttya uttya-ya!!!”
-...
“After I fix Kim Taeseok’s arm later, I should play that newly released Touhou Project: Embodiment of Scarlet Devil remake!”
Modern society overflowed with all kinds of fun.
Thanks to that, I could enjoy such healthy and productive hobbies.
Instead of thinking about eating a continent, I first thought about browsing the gallery one more time or playing one more game.
That was the proper benefit of civilization!
Daesik asked in an incredulous voice.
-You would abandon the chance to reach a higher realm for such trivial pleasures?
“No. I’m not abandoning it.”
-...What?
“I can do magic, play games, eat good food with my sister, and watch anime, dramas, and movies. Why choose just one? I honestly don’t get it.”
-You cannot have everything.
“I can.”
-...
Daesik fell silent.
In fact, I had been growing stronger every day.
All while enjoying everything I wanted with a perfectly healthy mind.
I did not feel the need to give up something for magic.
Nor did I want to.
“Getting stronger is nice... but I don’t want to sacrifice something just to be strong. I don’t want to see the people around me sad, either.”
Suddenly, I remembered what happened when I caught Sans.
Mana gathered from the continent forced its way into my heart. At that moment, I had considered using it to raise my realm.
But then, Iing Iing had looked depressed as she stared at the blackened, ruined land.
So I returned the mana to the earth.
It had been a damn waste, though.
“Iing!”
When Iing Iing smiled brightly, that regret vanished completely.
Thinking about it, it was not a difficult choice.
Seeing her smile was better than becoming a little stronger.
Anyway, the conclusion was simple.
“If you destroy everything around you just to become a little stronger, that just makes you an idiot.”
-...
“Like you.”
-Add the Fragment of the World.
“What? Can’t refute me? Have you surrendered to this great me’s overwhelming logic?”
-I said we need to move on to the next process!
Daesik changed the subject.
Looks like I got under Daesik’s skin!
Still, I did not press the matter further.
What mattered now was not arguing with the jar, but completing the potion.
I picked up the Blue Potion.
The time had finally come to use it...!
I slowly poured the Blue Potion into the pot.
Hummmmmmmmmm.
The mana within the liquid reacted all at once.
The Blue Motes gathered and scattered in every direction, moving chaotically.
Daesik urgently spoke.
-Now! You must connect each reaction and make them into one flow! It cannot break in the middle, so put your heart into it...
“Like this?”
I flicked my staff.
I caught the scattering mana.
I fixed the misaligned parts and connected the broken ones.
As I tuned everything so the entire flow became one...
Flaaash!
A bright, brilliant light burst from the pot.
The murky color vanished, leaving only clear liquid behind.
The Blue Motes inside were neatly arranged and slowly circulating.
I nodded.
“Is it done?”
-...Insane.
“Oh. If you’re impressed, I guess it went well.”
-Turn off the heat and let it cool. It must maintain that state even after you withdraw the mana.
“Wakatta.”
I turned off the gas burner and waited.
Even after it cooled, the color of the completed liquid did not change.
Neither did the mana flow.
The potion, holding a dreamlike glow, rested nobly within the pot.
Daesik spoke.
-...It is an Elixir.
“Ooh...!”
Complete Recovery Potion.
Successfully crafted!
“As expected of this great Extreme Lunatic Hell Alchemist and Heaven-Defying Alchemist! Elixirs are nothing, you little punk! That was easy!”
-...Just transfer it into a bottle. I no longer have the energy to be surprised.
“You don’t lack energy, you lack a body.”
-...
I carefully transferred the completed potion into a bottle.
The heart, eyeball, and bone powder had become a potion overflowing with a dreamlike glow.
This was the power of alchemy!
“Good work, Daesik. I made it thanks to you.”
-Did I not say my knowledge would be useful?
“Yeah. Good thing I didn’t break the jar.”
I had learned alchemy from a Black Mage who had abandoned even their own body.
Then I used it to make medicine that would heal someone else’s body.
It was a strange thing.
Anyway!
I took the potion upstairs and spoke to Choi Yejin, who was diligently drawing a map in the living room.
“Ms. Yejin. Let’s visit someone in the hospital.”
“...Don’t tell me you finished already?”
“It’s me.”
Choi Yejin looked startled, then hopeful.
I raised the potion bottle and proudly declared.
“It’s time for the arm to grow, grow!”
* * *
After contacting Hunter Kim Taeseok, I headed to the hospital in Choi Yejin’s car.
My sister could not come, by the way.
I still had not gotten Kkikki II yet.
I needed to buy my sister a new car too, but I kept forgetting.
Anyway, we arrived at a university hospital in Seoul.
As soon as we entered the hospital room, I pulled out the potion bottle.
Hunter Kim Taeseok, lying in bed, looked surprised.
“This... is the Complete Recovery Potion you made?”
“Yes. I brought it for you, Mister.”
Kim Taeseok looked down at the potion bottle while sitting on the hospital bed.
He carefully asked.
“This is so precious... Are you sure it is all right to use it on me?”
“I made it to give it to you. Who else would I use it on?”
“But perhaps you should keep it in case something happens to you...”
“Do I look like someone who would lose an arm that easily?”
“Ha ha... Well, considering the power you showed back then... I suppose that would not happen.”
“Baek Jiho, you crazy bastard. Why do you have to say things like that?”
Choi Yejin grumbled from beside us.
Kim Taeseok looked thoughtfully at the potion, then nodded.
“All right. I will drink it.”
I opened the bottle and handed it to him.
Then I rolled up his right sleeve so it would not get in the way.
The sleeve was empty.
Inside was the healed-over stump where he had lost his arm.
It was something my healing magic could not fix.
This time would be different, right?
Gulp. Gulp.
Mister drank the potion.
The moment he swallowed the final mouthful and lowered the empty bottle...
Crunch!
Something pushed out from the severed end of his arm.
Something white and hard.
It was bone.
“...Huh?”
Hunter Kim Taeseok’s eyes widened.
The bone grew longer. A joint formed at its end, followed by five finger bones branching out from it.
A bony skeletal arm had appeared in the air!
I could not hold back my admiration.
“Wow! Sans!!!”
“C-Crazy! What is that?!”
Squirm, squirm...
Red muscle began clinging to the bone.
Blood vessels and tendons wrapped around it.
The skinless fingers twitched.
Choi Yejin, watching the whole thing, stared in horror.
“F-Fuck! Hey! Is this really healing?!”
“I think so? Probably...?”
“Why does it look like a boss monster transformation scene?! It’s fucking disgusting!”
Choi Yejin took a step back in alarm.
Honestly, it was a little disgusting.
Could something have gone wrong?
But the mana flow was fine.
Blue Motes were gathering wherever necessary and connecting the body.
Was it only gross on the outside?
I asked Mister.
“Mister. Does it hurt?”
“No. It does not hurt, but... it feels itchy and hot.”
“Then it must be working?”
His arm literally began growing.
Bones extended, muscles twitched, blood vessels and tendons popped into place.
Soon, skin crept over and covered everything.
Once even his fingernails formed...
“Grow, arm, grow!!!”
“No. His arm really grew back?!”
“...!”
Hunter Kim Taeseok’s right arm had appeared with a pop!
I nodded in satisfaction.
“Try moving it. Let’s see whether it healed properly.”
“Mm.”
At my words, Mister began moving his arm.
He bent and stretched it, then wiggled his fingers.
After examining his arm for quite a while, he quietly muttered.
“...It moves.”
“Wow. Fuck. It really worked!!!”
Choi Yejin stepped forward.
Just a moment ago, she had fled so fast she nearly left her pants behind.
Now she looked ready to press her nose against his arm.
“Mister. What about your senses? Can you feel things?”
“Yeah. I can feel it. I can feel... everything. Hah... Really... To think I got my arm back...”
Mister lowered his head.
His shoulders trembled slightly.
He must have been overcome with emotion after regaining his lost arm.
Then I looked to the side.
“...”
Unlike before, Choi Yejin did not say anything.
She only stared quietly at Kim Taeseok’s restored right arm.
“I thought it was enough that I returned alive. I thought one arm would be fine...”
He wiped his eyes with his restored right hand.
It was a hand that had not existed until moments ago.
“But now that I have it back... this feels so good. Thank you so much, Baek Jiho. Thanks to you, I even got back the arm I lost.”
I nodded with a satisfied expression.
He was someone who had devoted himself to our country.
Of course I had to give him a new arm!
Then, right then.
“Here.”
Kim Taeseok held out a hand toward me.
His right hand.
“Before, I did not have one arm, so we could not properly shake hands.”
“?”
“This time, we can shake hands properly.”
Kim Taeseok was asking for a handshake with his restored arm.
I suddenly remembered when we first met.
He had held out his left hand because he had lost his right arm.
He had smiled awkwardly and apologized, saying handshakes were supposed to be done with the right hand.
I chuckled and held out my right hand.
Squeeze.
Our hands clasped.
It was warm.
The strength in his grip was completely normal too.
“Thank you, Jiho.”
“I told you. I’d even get your arm back.”
I had kept my promise.
I really had gotten back even Hunter Kim Taeseok’s lost arm!
I just felt... proud.
Then, a thought suddenly occurred to me.
“Wait. I made an arm through alchemy... Isn’t this human transmutation?”
“?”
“...That means I have become an alchemist who succeeded at the forbidden art of human transmutation. Ms. Yejin? And Mister Kim? From now on, will you call me Baek Jiho Elric and recognize my title as the Alchemist of Alloy? I suddenly feel like clapping my hands and activating alchemy...!”
“Even at a touching moment like this, that is what you want to say?”
“King Korea must quickly appoint me as a State Alchemist, give me enormous research funding every year, a military rank, and a cool pocket watch!”
“Don’t you already get general-level treatment? You signed an official contract.”
“Did I?”
Well, I did not have any reason to go outside.
How could I feel my place in the protocol ranking?
Apparently, I received treatment equivalent to a general.
I was General Baek Jiho.
Anyway!
“Mister, can I take a photo of your restored arm and upload it?”
“Of course. Everyone was worried. We should let them know.”
“Good. Give me a double thumbs-up with both hands.”
“Here.”
Mister gave a double thumbs-up.
Click!
I took a photo with my smartphone.
Perfect!
This would be enough to brag about this great me’s achievement on Hunter Gallery!
“You’re going to upload that to Hunter Gallery, right?”
“Of course. How dare they call my precious ingredients gross-out pictures...? I will make them realize their ignorance!”
I had done exactly what I said I would and fixed Kim Taeseok’s arm!
With this, the Hunter Gallery idiots would have no choice but to open their tightly shut eyes and praise my greatness again!
Grinning from ear to ear, I logged into Hunter Gallery.
Then I firmly pressed the write-post button.
What appeared was...
[You are a blocked user.]
[You are restricted from creating posts and comments for violating the operating policy.]
[Block removal time: 2 hours 23 minutes remaining.]
“...”
It was a block message.
I had forgotten.
I...
Had been...
Blocked from Hunter Gallery...?
“No, fuck, my Hunter Gallery!!!”
I had to brag about fixing Kim Taeseok’s arm!!!
Footnotes:
Baek Jiho Elric, the Alchemist of Alloy, clapping to activate alchemy, State Alchemists, and the pocket watch reference Fullmetal Alchemist. “Manner Pylon” refers to a StarCraft tactic where a Pylon is placed to obstruct an opponent.
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